Over the Rainbow
by Horky
Summary: Welcome to the new world, where your life won't make sense. Your friends will tell you it wasn't your fault, but it is your fault...again you must face your guilt, and overcome your enemies, if not for those living, than for the one's who have passed.
1. And Back Again

**A/N: **The multi-chap conclusion to _You Were Always Late _and _Away From You_

_Over the Rainbow_

And Back Again

I guess you could say I've been through a lot, and when you've been through a lot, you find yourself regretting things. I'm not suppose to regret things. That was something I decided a long time ago when I got into this business.

When I dropped that plate, I didn't feel anything for a while. I had stopped feeling for a long time.

When I look back, I wouldn't do that now. That's a lot to have on your shoulders, just for a pretty penny.

Now, don't get me wrong people. I'm still a hardcore son of a bitch with quite the reputation around here, and I'm not about to blow that. I worked hard for that people.

Okay, well, the booze did half the work but that's besides the point.

When they paired me up with Rude, I thought I would _die_. I mean, look at the guy, he's complete opposite of me. Maybe they thought he'd straighten me out, maybe they thought I'd loosen him up (Why would they want that? He's practically Tseng's wetdream), but neither of us thought we'd last long together.

Look at us now, still partners, and we know each other better than anyone else.

They tell you to know your partner, but not to feel for them so it won't affect you when you lose them. What kind of bullshit is that? My fuckin partner better feel for my ass or I might get screwed over in the field. I'm not saying I want Rude to throw himself in front of a bullet for me, but damn, I expect him to take at least a little risk for my well-being. And, if he don't feel anything for me, well, why would he take any risk at all?

It's just a good thing Rude isn't a woman. If Elena had been my partner, well, I would've been shot in the back along time ago.

Still, why am I still in this life? Is it just because I've gotten use to it? Maybe. Maybe I can't leave the Turks because it's all I've got left. Either way, I'm not good when it comes to orders, especially when I'm out looking for that stupid ex-SOLDIER boy. Idiot is what he is.

Dammit, I've had to find a lot of people in my past, but if there's one person I hate chasing, it's freaking Cloud Strife; better known as that stupid fucktard in my head. So, I definitely wasn't in the best of moods when this whole thing started.

Not to mention the fact that Lockhart wasn't even at the damn bar, so she can't call him and tell him to get his ass where I can find it.

Man I hate that guy.

So now, we've got to go hike all over the accursed city better known as Midgar. Or at least what's left of it.

And not only that, we're searching for one mopey son of a bitch, and not only is he emotional, he can chop me in freaking half with that damn sword of his.

Not that I wouldn't put up a fair fight, but still. I don't have time for this.

Rude leads the way, I'm too busy sulking to even care.

Of course I know where we're going, and of course he's going to be there, or show up eventually...but I really, really, really don't like it there.

That really doesn't make sense, does it? But I mean, it's just...unsettling there. It's too good, too pure, and it feels a little empty.

I guess it's because she died.

I sigh as we near the building, and shake my head. That nice motorcycle of his is parked outside.

As much as I hate the guy, you have to admit he's one lucky bitch. I mean, look at that bike! All nice and shiny, sleek and sexy. I want that bike.

Dammit.

Rude nudges me, and I realize we have work to do.

Damn Rufus. Always sending me after this idiot.

Dammit.

The door to the church is standing wide open, and I sigh. I really don't like this place anymore.

I sigh, shove Rude back and begin to trek up towards the door.

We both stop short when we hear a furious yell, a desperate roar. It's awful, just this raw pain pouring out of someone's lips, and I wonder, if Cloudy boy didn't end up with Kadaj's sword run through him already.

Still, what's even more unsettling, I doubt Cloud would scream like that even if he were impaled on Masamune. Cloud's the silent type, almost like Rude (Rude's cool), but neither of them yell. Nothing makes them yell.

That's what gets me on edge. What made Cloud yell? Wait...why do I even care?

I grab Rude's sleeve, whose still frozen near the doorway, and shake him out of his stupor. He nods his head and follows me slowly, cautiously. I inch my way around the open doorway, another cry of despair reaching my ears. It is Cloud, I can see his back from here.

He's sitting on the ground near a column, facing away from us mostly, rocking something between his arms and legs, back and forth, back and forth.

And every now and then, another scream slips from his lips, an almost animal yell. It isn't human. It's just too much pure, unfiltered feeling. It's raw, and goes straight to your bones.

It's kind of scary.

And I don't scare easily, and neither does Cloud-bitch. This is bad. Something is seriously wrong here.

And he's still rocking back and forth, and I catch a glimpse of his face. It's contorted into this look of pain, something of a grimace at the corner of his mouth, eyes squeezed shut, and his brows low and furrowed.

And that's when another sound breaks through the silence, a strangled sob, and I watch as Cloud presses his face into the back of the thing.

"Please..." he hisses, gasping, "I'm here now...I'm sorry...I'm sorry I'm late...but I'm here now..." he gasps again, "I'm sorry. Please, say something else...please Teef...please, anything else."

Still rocking, still fighting sobs.

That's when I see him jerk back, his left hand slams into the dusty floor, and he growls.

And there's black blood dripping off of his arm, running on to the floor boards, mingling with a red blood, a lily caught in the mad storm.

And he falls back unconscious, and my breath freezes in my throat, as he hits the floor behind him, the thing landing on top of his chest.

The body.

The bruised, bloody body with flowing brown hair, and vacant red eyes.

I think I hear Rude gasp beside of me, but I'm too busy trying to grasp the reality of the moment.

The reality that Tifa Lockhart is dead.

* * *

I can't carry her. I can't. Any other time, yes. But...no...I-I just can't do that. 

So Rude does, and it pains him, as much as he wants to hide it. After you've been with someone for so long, you pick up on little habits. Like Rude, when he's upset, he'll fiddle with the end of his jacket. I can tell he wants to, but he can't, because he's got a corpse in his arms.

What happened? What happened to all of us, really...we're all so different from two years ago. You...you Cloud Strife...you would've never let this happen to her two years ago.

What happened to you?

* * *

I don't know how we actually made it back to the bar; it was empty. No children, children that had already lost one mother, lost another. 

I don't want to be the one to tell them; I don't even want to be around when they find out.

We put her in her bed after cleaning the worst of her wounds. It's strange, looking at her now. She's still got that sad smile on her face, the one we found her with...or rather, the one Cloud found her with. We lay her hands across her stomach, and she looks unnatural, laying there with no breath.

Rude finally drags me away from her, to watch for Cloud to wake up.

It's a few hours before he finally does, wincing once before slowly opening his eyes. He looks around the room of the children's, so confused, so...hurt.

And then he glares at me.

"Why am I awake?"

The question catches me off guard, and I blink rapidly, "What?"

"Why am I alive?!" he roars.

He's off the bed fast, much faster than he should be leaving it. To prove this fact, his legs give out, and he hits the floor hard. I almost walk over to help him up, but I remember the body laying just two doors down.

She's dead because of him. I never blamed him for the death of Aeris. Who saw that coming, really? Sephiroth, and all that bullshit. I don't blame him. I blame myself for the plate. Who pressed that button, anyways? I did.

But I'm blaming him for this, even if I'm not better than him. I'm blaming Cloud for Tifa's death...because she wouldn't have died if he hadn't been so selfish...if he hadn't of been so blind.

And he struggles to his feet again, and as much as I hate him, and even more now, I have to stop him. If he sees Tifa's body, I don't know what he'll do.

"Cloud, stop," I try to stop him, honestly.

But he backhands me viciously, unexpectedly. I rear back, and slam against the wall behind me.

"Shit! Rude!" I yell, watching as Cloud struggles down the hallway.

I make it out the door, my feet slipping on the floor slightly, trying to catch up with him, trying to stop him from seeing her.

Her bedroom door swings open suddenly, and I almost expect to see her walking out of there, smiling and asking what's wrong. But it isn't her...it's Rude, Rude who goes straight up to Cloud slamming his forearm beneath Cloud's neck and forcing him against the wall opposite.

Cloud's eyes are wild, his efforts are weak, though, still resisting a truth he undoubtedly knows.

"Where is she?" his voice is broken, hoarse.

Rude says nothing, just pushes Cloud back down the hall, back towards the children's room with rough shoves. Cloud doesn't protest...maybe for once he realizes what's best for him right now. Rude doesn't even have to shove him into the children's room.

I go to follow him into the room, but he slams the door behind him, and there is silence.

* * *

_My life has been…was a hectic swirl. It was filled with grief and happiness, usually linked, standing there tied together, hand in hand. Life in general is full of strange things, and happenings, but that doesn't make them any less painful or bearable._

_Bad things happen, and cause people to hurt and cry and suffer. We all do, really, every one of us who has something to live for that isn't greed or jealousy or evil. We, who live for others, and love, and the beauty in life and the planet, we always suffer despite what we do for it._

_But not everyone is like that, and those governed by sins are the ones that cause the pain; the ones that cause the bad things to happen, to make people like us suffer._

_You are…were a good person, whether you are willing to accept it or not; despite the sins you may have committed, you felt guilt and wished to be forgiven. You are a good person. Unfortunately for people like us, like you, we suffer, always, at the hands of those that live by sin._

_We're good people, but bad things happen to good people._

**A/N: **That's right, fellas...I'm ending it. Check out You were always late, and Away from you, if you want this to make sense... I hope you all enjoy this, and the begining was in Reno's POV. Kudos to those who figure out the italics. Do not expect quick updates, I'm busy with classes right now, but as always, I appreciate reviews.


	2. And Facing Today

And Facing Today

Tseng and Elena are still on my mind; the forgotten city had been quiet when I found them, but it had still been hard to hear their breath. Undoubtedly Kadaj and his gang will head back here soon... I fear what he is, and what he will do. I've heard rumors that they have great interest in the children infected by Geostigma... by Jenova.

I often wonder how life would've differed if Jenova had never came to this planet... Would life had been the same? Would I have been turned to a monster? Would ShinRa rise to power? Did Jenova affect us to the point that she determined our fate, and our future?

It is a question I'd rather leave unanswered.

I do not believe anyone wants to even imagine something is capable of that much power, of that much influence. Or perhaps that's the reason why Jenova became experimented upon... humans are greedy by nature, and perhaps ShinRa hoped to harness her power, her influence on nature and life.

Of course, she was never truly understood, her power and her influence. It was too much for them to handle, that much is obvious.

Jenova may have very well brought us deeper into hell, but I'm sure humans themselves were capable of going there in the first place.

I am curious, though, as to what Kadaj is... he's dangerous, and obviously deeply tied to both Jenova and Sephiroth...as are his... 'brothers'.

_...the boy is in trouble..._

My eyes raise as Chaos chuckles in my head; nuisance, really, but helpful at times.

In my deep thoughts I had not heard the barely perceptible gunshots echoing through the forest...

Undoubtedly Cloud is not ready to fight yet; he hasn't been ready for a while, I believe. I should've been prepared for the day that something like Kadaj would show up. I should've prepared him, but then he just would've lived in a world of paranoia and despair.

I see no reason to bring that upon him when I myself know what it is like.

I dash through the forest quickly, the crystal trees blending together as the gunshots become more pronounced.

It's slightly disturbing stumbling across a battle with dozens of children standing by watching unperturbed.

So the rumors were true then... Kadaj has done something to them... evil as his 'mother'.

And there is Cloud, caught in a dance of blades with Kadaj himself; Yazoo and Loz looking confident enough watching their leader battle Cloud alone. Of course they would; Cloud's a shell, practically dead inside. One can tell just by glimpsing at his eyes...though I see a flare of vengeance perhaps...but it dies quickly, almost as if he's content to be killed here. Content to die...what has possessed him?

I did not know he had fallen so far.

I wonder if Tifa has realized his decline...

He will not win this.

I raise my gun easily, and aim with precision. Chaos chuckles again; he finds life threatening situations of my comrades amusing...I had forgotten.

I fire once; it is enough to knock Kadaj's blade astray...enough time to distract the three, and enough time to dodge through the bullets and grab Cloud. As my hand hooks onto his shoulders I'm not sure Cloud realizes what is happening, nor if he cares.

It will be a long night indeed.

* * *

Cloud sits by the bank rubbing his arm. I can smell the decay Geostigma has inflicted on his left arm from here, even with no wind. It is a severe case. That must've contributed to his despair significantly, but I still do not see how he has fallen this far. 

I expect him to say something, really...surely he must be curious why I'm here in the forgotten city. I wonder if he has heard of Tseng and Elena's kidnaping, or whether he even cares. With recent events Rufus is involved...he has to be.

Even from here I can see that his eyes are empty, hollow with a sadness I cannot remember seeing...

Maybe something akin to that when Aeris passed...but this is much more raw, and he still says nothing.

I'm not usually one to instigate a conversation...but obviously he's being more stubborn than usual.

"I come here often... I've seen what Kadaj's group is doing."

Cloud does not even acknowledge my words. Why is he so lost? What has caused this? Surely the Geostigma alone is not enough...

Something else, then...

But he is not willing to speak...I shall have to force it from him.

I move quickly, reaching out and grabbing his left arm.

He winces, his eyes lost for a moment as he tries to look at me; he's undoubtedly lost behind a haze of Geostigma. I tighten my grip.

"The stigma... it's a symptom of alien matter infesting the body," I release his arm, "The body tries to eliminate it and over compensates."

He swallows thickly, rubbing his arm.

"Inside our bodies is a current like the life stream. That current is what fights off any malevolent intruders."

Still he says nothing, his head lowering.

Does he really need that much prompting? Of course, malevolent intruders, he must be familiar with that by now... He probably is aware that it is the Sephiroth gene.

What will gain reaction? Perhaps the involvement of the Turks...

"Tseng and Elena... they were brought here half dead. They must've been brutally tortured. I did what I could for them...but we'll see."

Cloud flinches; his first voluntary reaction. His eyes are more glazed, focusing on the water before him.

"Tortured..." he says softly.

"They had it coming. They got their hands on a piece of Jenova's head. If they wanted to, they could recreate Sephiroth."

He turns his head slightly in my direction, but still the reaction I expect from him, does not come. His anger should've flared at that comment, or at least he should've been interested.

Something is terribly wrong.

I raise my head slightly, studying him, "Cloud... what's happened?"

Cloud's eyes dart around slightly as he shifts, leaning forward. There is hesitation to his body, a certain tension there that is strung taught and ready to snap.

"I..."

There's a sudden rustle in the bushes, and even as Cloud springs to his feet to defend himself, he looks relieved for the interruption.

A small body flings itself from the bushes, and into Cloud's body.

"Marlene!" Cloud says, his voice holding the first bit of emotion.

Cloud puts a hand on her shoulder, watching her closely as she catches her breath.

"Cloud! Denzel...and Tifa!" Marlene shouts.

Cloud freezes.

"I wanna talk to her!"

Cloud still has not moved, and I watch him closely.

Marlene sighs, exasperated with how Cloud does not move.

The girl glances at me, "May I?"

It takes a moment for me to realize she wants to use my phone to call Tifa; I lift my cape, showing that I have no phone.

"You don't have a phone?" she exclaims.

Cloud swallows, finally shifting slightly, "Vincent..." his voice is quiet, "Will you take Marlene back to the bar? I need...to see Rufus–

"I can't do that Cloud," I shake my head; what has happened?

Cloud's eyes search before him, as if looking for something...or someone.

"Forget it Cloud!" Marlene answers for him, "Why don't you ever pay any attention to us?!"

Cloud watches, slightly startled at her sudden outburst. Marlene rushes towards me, and opts to hide beneath my cape leaving a confused Cloud in her wake.

"Marlene, please," Cloud starts, but doesn't finish.

I watch him closely, "Cloud...what is this about?"

His eyes focus on the ground, and I see truly such a sadness in them...it almost seems familiar.

_Ah ha ha...now I see what has happened..._

Chaos?

_What has the she said to you, boy? Stop running? She really wants you to help the children when you can't even help yourself. Oh it is obvious this one does not wish to fight, not after what has happened._

That can't be it...Aeris' death was nearly two years ago–

_Who said anything about the flower girl? You are so slow it is unnerving, really._

I don't-

No...that can't be right.

That can't...

That doesn't make any sense.

_But it makes perfect sense! Oh this is grand... killing the woman. With her puppets, Jenova out does us all–_

Stop!

"Cloud," my voice is far harsher than I intended, but it catches his attention. "Where is Tifa, Cloud?"

His eyes run from mine again, before he softly speaks, "Marlene...I need...to take you back to the bar... let's go."

"Cloud–

But the girl is already running towards him, but this doesn't make sense.

Cloud raises his eyes towards mine once, ashamed, hurt and broken–

I see the truth there, but...

No...no...she isn't. She can't.

"Cloud...where is she?"

He will not answer, and I know the truth as he places a hand on Marlene's back, leading her from the forest.

How can he tell her the truth?

How can he tell her that Tifa has died?

* * *

_Do you remember that night, Cloud? When Jenova first made her appearance in our lives? When we both nearly died? That night…of course you would, it's our defining moment that lays out the rest of our lives. You were still a boy, and I still a girl, and I look at you today, and I think…that you are still a boy, a child governed only by his heart, and you're a guilty child, Cloud. You reap what you sew, and you suffer for all the guilt and pain you place on your shoulders. You shouldn't have to, Cloud. Despite what you think, my death was not caused by you._

_Aeris tells me that I should think of you as the past, and that we are the present. She says that the living are dead, and that the dead are truly living. In a funny way, it makes sense. The Promise Land is beautiful, only open to the Cetra, and some fortunate human souls, such as myself._

_Aeris tells me that one day you will be joining us here. How can she speak of the future with you when you are the past? I don't understand. In the Promise Land everything is clearer, more profound and beautiful, and yet my head feels muddled. Zack tells me it is because we are human, and that we shouldn't be here really._

_Still, Aeris will not tell me if you will arrive soon or not. She says it is best for me not to know. I can't see how, really. I'd like to know. Still, the selfish part of me wants it to be soon, because I'm already tired of you being in the past Cloud, and me in the present. I want the future here now, but I know you are still needed, and more than for just the Geostigma crisis. What would poor Denzel do with out you and me? What would our remaining friends do?_

_Pathetic, aren't we, Cloud?_

_You wish that you were dead, and I wish that I was alive._

…_Hmm…the grass really is always greener on the other side._

**A/N: **Is sad...this story is so sad. It was really hard writing Vincent's POV, and even harder bending Cloud to the story line. Yes, I used dialogue from AC, but that dialogue is important. I hoped you liked it...and yes, it was Tifa in the first chappie. Thanks for the reviews loves!


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